Buiding my own PC... power supply and compatibility unsure

5

5myl

Posts: 8   +0
I am building my own PC for the very first time and i chose out my parts and the only thing i'm unsure about is the power supply. I am not sure how powerful it needs to be.
Also i want to be sure that all my parts are compatible with each other. Thanks in advance.

Here are my parts:

AMD Phenom II X6 3.2GHz Black edition
Intel 40 GB Internal SSD
NZXT Tempest EVo
ATI Radeon HD 5970
Asus Crossahir IV Formula + OCZ Gold 8GB RAM
Barracuda HDD 1TB

Also if some of these parts aren't good of they could be repaced with something better please let me know. And if I am missing anything important.
 
IMO, 40GB is way too small for the system drive. You'd be constantly babysitting it, moving files, and everything you do would have to be retargeted before starting a project. Windows 7 64 bit would use half of that space just for itself.
 
The "system drive" is the HDD, (or SSD) that the operating system is installed on.

With the setup you propose, the 40GB SSD would be the "system drive, "Windows drive, or "C:/" drive, whatever you prefer to call it.

The 1TB HDD would appear in "My Computer" (or just "Computer" in Windows 7) as a "Volume". Windows always refers to a drive just attached for storage as a volume.

As I said, IMO 40GB is too small for installing Windows in a desktop computer.

I realize that the price of the smaller SSDs seems attractive, but they really are more suited to a net book where even the OS has been reduced in size to match.

In netbooks you get Win 7 Starter or even XP, which both have a smaller installation requirement, and also lesser hardware requirements than Win 7 Home Premium or Pro.
 
Consider quality of the power supply, more than the power numbers... Get the best one you can find that is over 450 Watts... Corsair, OCZ, ThermalTake., FSP Group, Sparkle, Zalman, Enermax, Antec, Black CoolMax, Recertified OCZ .. There are 85 good ones out there... so pick three choices and post them here so we can pick on you.
Take a look at a site that has large number of them such as Directron.com, or NewEgg.com, or Frys.com
Lots of choices. My favorites are Sparkle and FSP group, in addition to Corsair, because I have never had one fail, and we install about five power supplies a day.
 
 
A 650w PSU might get worked with the Phenom II X6 / HD5970 setup if you plan on a lot of intensive gaming and/or overclocking. The Corsair TX750w for $93 (inc shipping and after rebate) is also a little cheaper than the 650w -the only downside is that it isn't modular (detachable cables). The plus side is that the cables are well presented and very long so cable management is made fairly easy.
Whether you need 8Gb RAM might also be cause for consideration, although the six core Phenom v Core i7 debate is probably a wash -IMO-if gaming is your only consideration. If you plan on getting into some more multi-threaded multimedia apps then the Phenom X6 is probably the way to go (as is the slightly lower binned 1055T version which probably represents a better bang-for-buck)
 
I'd go with the Crosshair IV too. Just for a few bucks more you get a board with one of the best OCing capabilities. (And it looks really cool too!)

The Corsair 650HX as suggested by HK would do fine with the system as it is. But for more upgrading and OCing headroom I'd go with a slightly bigger PSU.

EDIT: DBZ got there first. :)
 
I was thinking of having just the operating system on the SSD so it will start up faster, but would that put on the whole C drive as well? IS there a way to make the SSD for the OS only and make the HDD for the C: drive?

Is 8 GB of RAM too much?

And as for the PSU i am thinking of going with the Corsair AX750.

Do you need RAM for the SSD?
 
IS there a way to make the SSD for the OS only and make the HDD for the C: drive?
Click to expand...

Most of your OS files will be on Drive C. So you cankeep the entire SSD storage for C. Add a second HDD and partition it to store your programs, games, media, etc.

Is 8 GB of RAM too much?
Click to expand...

If budget is not an issue then 8GB is not too much. (Then nothing is actually!)

And as for the PSU i am thinking of going with the Corsair AX750.
Click to expand...

Great choice.

Do you need RAM for the SSD?
Click to expand...

What exactly do you mean?
 
Your SSD once you install OS on it (e.g. Win 7) will be shown as 'Local Disk (C: )', and if you create just one partition on an 1TB drive it would be shown as 'Local Disk (D: )'.

Well as CC very right pointed out for an Windows PC (with x64) OS, 40GB is bit too small, after installation of OS you'll have less than half of the its total space free.

You can install rest of your softwares on your 1TB hard drive, you'll need to be bit vigilant while installing software and changing the target drive, so everything doesn't go into your C: (i.e. SSD).

I don't believe 8GB is too much any more, provided you are using applications which can use it.

No you don't need RAM for SSD, SSD is an 'storage' device.

Edit:
Apparently Rit and I posted about the same time, give or take few seconds :D
 
I see you have to do so much for what I want to do with the SSD. So Do i really need it? I think i can go without it because my old computer had everything on the HDD.

Or is there anyway to make the HDD the main drive the C: and have the OS installed on the SSD on another partition like D:?
 
Well, even if you try to do that, it won't happen, because OS will always 'perceive' the drive it is installed on as 'C:'.

I don't think you need to worry about this anyway, if it is feasible for you, just buy a bigger SSD e.g. 100GB or so and you'll be fine, as long as you don't place 'everything' on it.

You can always use your 1TB drive to store software you use 'less frequently', and for storage of your data.
 
One Last Thing...

I found a 128GB SSD By Toshiba

It only costed $170

It seems too cheap. Does it have good performance even though it is so cheap?
 
Have you considered reading the specifications?

Next to the size, the read/write rates of the drive are most important. Well. then there's the seek time also.
 
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